George Clooney has some truly touching relationships with many iconic names in Hollywood. While his bromance with Brad Pitt is his most famous relationship, the acclaimed ER actor has built connections with a few somewhat unlikely faces. This includes his Descendants co-star Shailene Woodley and even Viola Davis.
George's relationship with Viola isn't in the public eye as much as his adventures with the likes of Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, or Julia Roberts. But there's a touching connection between the two Academy Award-winning thespians. Let's take a look.
George And Viola Built A Friendship On Set And He Even Let Her Use His Home For Her Honeymoon
In a January 2012 Oscars edition of Entertainment Weekly, George Clooney and Viola Davis graced the cover of the magazine and were featured in an interview about the famed awards. You see, the two were frontrunners that year for Best Actor and Best Actress. George was nominated for The Descendants and Viola was nominated for The Help.
While George and Viola have very different upbringings, the two bonded while filming three different movies. They co-starred in 1998's Out of Sight, as well as Solaris, and Syriana, for which George won a Best Supporting Actor award.
The two became particularly close while filming Syriana, so much so that George actually let Viola use his Lake Como, Italy house for her honeymoon.
"I begged him to let me stay at his villa in Lake Como for my honeymoon," Viola Davis told Entertainment Weekly.
"I had just bought the place. And she was getting married, which I tried to talk her out of," Goerge joked. "But that didn't work out, so she had her honeymoon at my place."
Of course, George wasn't there and Viola and her husband, Julius Tennon, had reign over the 22-room house. Although, George's staff were present. Viola and Julius were happy that they were there as they cooked all of the meals, including gourmet pizza.
Viola's 'Thank You' Gift
While on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Viola explained that she and Julius were really unsure about what to get George for a 'thank you' gift for letting them stay at his glorious villa.
"What do we get for a gift?" Viola recalled to Andy. "We're cheap! No, seriously, we are cheap."
But Viola had to get George something. After all, he had kept his promise about letting them stay at his place for free. You have to remember, this was before Viola Davis was racking in the big bucks. Sure, she had money, but nothing in comparison to what she'd eventually make thanks to gigs like How To Get Away With Murder.
"We got him this like... aluminum... oh, God, this is so embarrassing," Viola said as she tried to explain to Andy Cohen what she and Julius had purchased for George as a 'thank you'. "[We got him] this aluminum jazz figurine from New Orleans."
"An aluminum... how big is the figurine?" Andy asked her.
"Now, listen, don't judge me. He told us not to give him anything."
While we don't know precisely how George reacted when he received this gift, we're sure he had a sense of humor about it. After all, if nothing else, George Clooney appears to have a fabulous sense of humor.
Why Is Viola And George's Relationship Not As Public As His Other Friendships?
The truth is, we have no idea why George and Viola's longtime friendship isn't as public as some of George's other Hollywood connections; we're looking at you, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Rande Gerber, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts. In all likelihood, George and Viola aren't as public with their affinity for one another because they have completely different schedules and travel in slightly different circles. Viola also tends to be a little more removed from the spotlight than George, although, for the past couple of years, even George has found a way to avoid the press.
While we don't know this for sure, it certainly appears to be the case. But we're sure the two will get to work with one another sometime soon.
At the end of their shared interview with Entertainment Weekly, the pair were asked about what movie they'd like to make together as co-leads.
"Maybe a remake of The Defiant Ones, but with me as Sidney Poitier," Viola responded.
George seemed to like that idea (he's a big Sidney Poitier fan) but claimed that they would certainly find something noteworthy to work on together. More importantly, it sounds like they'd have fun doing it. After all, who wouldn't want to work with their friends?